The man pays rapt attention to the white-haired, bearded speaker wearing a long black coat. He barely manages to find a seat in the packed auditorium. A man interested in finding Bible truth decides to attend a public talk advertised in The Irish Times. Let us go back in time and reconstruct in our minds what could well have happened at that event. In Dublin a more determined opposer-Mr. O’Connor, secretary of the YMCA-attempted to turn the audience of more than 1,000 against the Bible Students. One objector in their midst was swiftly handled by skillful use of the Scriptures. The advertised public talk, “The Overthrow of Satan’s Empire,” drew an “intelligent audience of about 300” later that evening. Five brothers greeted him as he stepped onto the dock at Belfast one April morning in 1908. Russell recounted that the “audiences were very attentive” to the subject “The Oath-Bound Promise” about Abraham’s faith and the future blessings for mankind.īecause of the considerable interest found there, Ireland was also included in Russell’s third European trip. By his second trip, in May 1903, public meetings in Belfast and Dublin were being advertised in local newspapers. The interest stirred on the first trip evidently led to hundreds, sometimes thousands, turning out to hear him speak on later visits. As Brother Russell and his traveling companions passed through tidy towns and beautiful countryside, they realized that here was a field “ready and waiting to be harvested.”īrother Russell visited Ireland seven times in all. Aboard the City of Chicago, he viewed the sunset over the approaching coastline at Queenstown and may well have remembered his parents’ description of their homeland. His first tour started with Ireland, in July 1891. Some 20 years earlier, seeking the best way to spread the good news worldwide, Brother Russell had decided to make a series of tours outside of America. * Beyond the shipyard, a dozen Bible Students stood on the quay, awaiting his arrival. Looming before Brother Russell were two massive ocean liners under construction, the ill-fated Titanic and her sister ship Olympic. For one man in their midst, Charles T. Russell, this was the fifth trip to Ireland. AS THE boat steamed up the Belfast Lough, a sea inlet, the little cluster of passengers standing on deck caught sight of green hills bathed in early morning light.
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